Blessed and Cursed
by Kuroshi44
Summary: Lau was full of contradictions, but then again he should be. This is his story of how he ended up both blessed and cursed. It is intended as a prequel of sorts to "Never and Always" but isn't really connected other than it explains Lau's backstory for that FanFic. You don't have to read one to read the other. The rating is because I'm not sure so let me know if it is wrong.


**Once upon a time when I first finished "Never and Always" Kimberly T asked if I would do a back story for Lau's curse. Nearly a year later this is the answer to that review, I sincerely apologise for the wait**

 **Summary: prequel (?) to never and always, this is the story of lau's curse. You don't have to have read Never and Always to read this.**

The small child stumbled along the crowded streets. He was lost, very lost and in more ways than one. He was lost in the sense that he didn't know where he was, he was also lost in the sense that he had seen both his parents killed and didn't know what was going to happen now. For two days he had been wondering around the city he was unfamiliar with; the picture of his parents broken and blooded in the alley way obscuring his vision, keeping him from recognising anything.

As he walked the streets got less crowded, he didn't notice. Hunger, grief, fatigue and that image meant that he was hardly functioning. When he finally collapsed in front of a decrepit building in the abandoned part of town he didn't notice how even the homeless avoided its shelter, couldn't see the surprisingly clean and untouched shrine hiding with in. He was so far gone into darkness by the time the arms lifted him up that he didn't notice they weren't human.

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Lau lifted his head from a surprisingly soft mattress. It felt wrong somehow, like the simple fact that he was comfortable contradicted some truth of the universe. Then as he came to full consciousness he realised why.

His parents were dead.

They had come to this city to do some sort of business, drop off some product that someone had bought, but had been robbed before they could do so. The people who had done it had beaten them severely before starting with knives; he would never know what had driven them to do such a thing. The men had never noticed the child cringing in the corner, watching the ordeal with no idea what was happening.

As he remembered he pulled his legs up to his chest, in sadness and in fear. He should be hungry and lost in a strange city, not resting comfortably. He managed to shuffle his way into a corner and look around, expecting to see slavers or child nappers that his parents had warned him of too discourage exploring while traveling.

Instead he saw something else, something he had been told was folk law.

They were people, but not people. Some were almost see-through, others were as solid as you could get, but all were deformed in some way or another. Not deformed like people on the street deformed, but deformed like cows horns on their heads or multiple tails shown beneath there cloths. He could see fish gills and scales, feathers and wings, talons and claws.

These were ghost or demons, he had no idea which and rather hoped not to find out.

One that was sitting in the middle of the room, they seemed like they were in charge, turned to him. She (he thought it was a she) had blue skin and feathers were there should be hair, her nails were long and black and solid looking.

'The little thing is a wake.' With her words (the voice confirmed that she was female) all the creatures in the room suddenly turned to him and started to crowd around, making noise like animal calls as they screeched and cawed to each other. Lau muddled further back into his corner to try and avoid the hands and claws that reached for him to poke and prod and grab at his cloths and flesh.

'Enough,' her quiet voice stilled the mad scrabble. 'Let me look at him.' The creatures slowly parted so that there was a direct line between him and this leader.

'You are an interesting child. One, I believe, that carries our mark. It would appear that one of your ancestors was more closely mixed with our kind than most.' She paused to let the words sink in to those present.

'We have given you food and shelter, child, and protected you from those that would do harm to one as defenceless as you. But our kind does not give things freely; we also do not leave our own to suffer as you will.

'You must pay a price for what we have given, but I would like to make you a more … lasting offer.' She waited, as wanting a response from him, so Lau silently nodded for her to continue.

'You have our blood, our mark. It is just a speck now, but I have the power to strengthen It.' There was an outcry that she silence with one hand. 'Should I do so it would give you many blessings, but also a curse. By being promoted to a half breed you would be more capable physically, you would also be able to glimpse beyond the veil that binds this world and ours. The down fall is simple; you will no longer be able to lie, consciously or unconsciously you shall always speak truly, you shall always be right. Your glimpse through the veil will give you knowledge, but that knowledge will break you, both worlds will merge in your mind. This is the offer that I make you; you will be blessed and cursed by the blood that lays dormant within you. Should you accept I would also be required to give you some protection, as one that bears our mark. As for payment…' the creature trailed off, lost in thought. The ones around her were silent, waiting for the judgement of their leader.

'My kind grows weak and distant in the presence of humans; they destroy our lands without mercy. There are places, such as this one, were the remnants of worship from times past are enough to keep us stable; but they grow fewer each year.' Another pause as she thought about what she would ask for.

'Should you decline my offer you will be require to sacrifice a small portion of your blood to our altar to give us strength. Should you accept you will carry us with you; you will travel far and wide on my orders and seek places where we may thrive. Your life will be of extravagance as you move with our protection to find us homes.

'Which to you chose, child; to leave blood for our altar, or accept my offer of protection and travel at the cost of your sanity and freedom of choice?'

Lau looked at this woman. The choice she gave was simple; bleed on an altar and turn his back on what he had found to return to the streets he did not know to die like filth, or become something more than human to be welcomed into a family.

To him there was no choice; sanity was something he lost the moment his parents were dragged into the alleyway.

'I like your offer.' He murmured. The creatures around him screeched and cried what could have been celebrations or outrage; he had no way of knowing.

'Ran Mau, come here,' the woman called. A girl spirit with both horns and tails slowly approached the leader. 'This is my daughter, when you leave she shall go with you. She shall be your connection to me, your protection, and your life partner. Treat her well.'

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The man opened the door and was greeted by two children, a boy and a girl.

Now this was interesting.

As a Mafia gang they were occasionally visited by people looking for shelter, those for whom this was the last resort to survive, even knowing they would never make it out alive. Of course they got the occasional timid child, the brash youth, or the harrowed adult, but these children fit none of those.

The boy stood there with his eyes lidded and a dreamy smile on his face, he stood tall – almost proud, and carried an earie aura of confidence that was calm and understated; unlike the loud young men that came here acting as if they were already top. The girl that clung to him was also strange, she was young, doll like, eyes wide open and innocent, but despite that there was steel in those eyes that promised death to those that would hurt her companion.

No, these children were nothing like the ones that normally came seeking sanctuary or jobs. The way they acted would normally mean that they were already immersed in this world of blood and violence, because all others avoided this house and the "family" that lived there. But even that could not be right; a child of a different family would not approach so easily either; they would have been raised to know better than to approach without reason, and no competent leader would send a child to do a man's job.

'Who are you and what do you want?' no need for pleasantries, the man was a guard, a grunt, not some highly polished secretary.

The boy smiled and tilted his head, for some reason the man had to fight a shiver.

'My name is Lau and this is Ran Mau, we were wondering if you were hiring, we don't really have anywhere to go and I heard this "family" was particularly welcoming of those younger than ideal.'

There was something wrong with this boy, something wrong with the girl as well but the boy made the man feel like he had run out into snow without any clothes. This was not something he was meant to handle.

'I'll get the leader, we don't have many positions available at the moment but he might find something.'

'Oh, I wouldn't worry, there will be plenty of jobs opening soon,' the boy said with that dreamy smile on his face. The guard stared at him.

'What's that supposed to mean?' he near yelled.

'Oh, nothing, just ignore it.' the boy said as they trundled through the door to be checked for weapons, they had none but for some reason that didn't make him feel any better.

Two days later and ten people from the inner workings were found to be passing information to a different family.

" _There will be plenty of jobs opening soon._ "

The guard watched as the boy rose quickly in the ranks, the girl at his side. The boy would mutter things that everyone learnt were best to listen to, because no matter how insane they were they were always right. Lau was eventually put in charge of drug trafficking, and the guard was never happier than when the boss had the now-man moved to England to take care of business there.

Lau smiled as he bordered the ship that was headed to England with Ran Mau at his side. Brothels and drug dens where the perfect places for his "family", they seemed to thrive of the desire so easily offered and the lost dreams left to float. Many of the places he had set up with the consent of the Boss were swimming with Ghosts and Demons all too happy to show some skin for the power ignorant mortals offered in exchange.

Cursed? Maybe, but there was a certain bliss to being unaware of the outside world, why else did drugs sell so well? Blessed? Definitely, he had more now than he ever would have otherwise, and there was a certain satisfaction to setting up homes for his _true_ family.

Now it was time to see if this England was worthy of their invasion.

 **It the demon/ghost queen seemed a little strange it's because she isn't human, that's all.**


End file.
